The present invention relates to data processing, and more specifically, to personalized audio presentation of textual information as synthesized human speech.
As data processing systems such as computers, mobile phones, cameras, gaming systems, vehicle computers and the like have become pervasive, users of such data processing systems have come to expect and rely upon access, via the Internet, to various resources, such as information, executable programs and services. The resources accessible via the Internet include, for example, news and weather reports, financial information and financial transactions, various applications (“apps”), mapping services, data backup, management and storage services, video and audio entertainment, information services and feeds, and various knowledge bases (e.g., dictionaries, encyclopedias, real estate listings, etc.). User access to these and other resources available via the Internet is encouraged by making many of these resources available at low or no cost to the user.
Although resources accessible via the Internet commonly include or are provided in conjunction with image and/or video content, a significant proportion of the resources accessible via the Internet are provided as, or in conjunction with, textual content. Consequently, many of the resources of the Internet have been effectively inaccessible or unusable by users that are either temporarily or permanently unable to read such textual content, for example, due to the temporary inability of the user to view the textual content (e.g., while driving an automobile) or visual impairment of the user.